Peppermint Sparkles are The Perfect Christmas Cookie

I’ve had this Christmas Cookie recipe written out on a card for years and have no idea where it actually came from. It’s one we’ve enjoyed year after year so I thought I’d share our favorite Peppermint Sparkles Christmas Cookie recipe with you here. I hope you love them like we do.

In essence, this is a whipped shortbread cookie with crushed candy cane on top. I suggest making it in a stand mixer however, you could just as easily do these with a hand mixer or with no mixer at all.

These are the perfect cookies to make with little helper elves because there are jobs easy enough for them to succeed at – such as pressing the dough into crushed candy or rolling balls of pink and white dough together. These require no chilling time so they are easy to whip up a batch whenever you feel the desire to.

Peppermint Sparkles – The Perfect Christmas Cookie

Yield: 24

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These are a family favourite Christmas cookie. We make them every year!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup veg shortening

1 cup icing sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

red food coloring (optional)

1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, shortening, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla until smooth and slightly fluffed up.

Add flour to incorporate.

When dough is mixed take half out and set aside. Add coloring to remainder and mix again until dough is pink. If you are concerned about food coloring you can omit this - they are just as tasty without.

Grab a little white dough and a little pink dough and roll all together into a ball.

Place your cookie balls on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Once your pan is full, flatten balls with the palm of your hand until about a 1/2 inch thick.

Sprinkle each cookie liberally with crushed candy cane.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 min.

Watch cookies carefully, you don't really want them to brown.

Notes

These are just as easily done with a hand mixer or no mixer at all.

Nutrition Information:

You can roll into balls, flatten then sprinkle with candy when baking with little ones or, my preferred method to breeze through the task quickly – fill 1/2 a cookie scoop with white dough, 1/2 with pink, depress the scoop to get your ball of dough, then press into the candy, flattening and topping all in one motion.

My large capacity mixer has no problem working up a double batch of these and if you really wanted to streamline things – there’s no need to colour the dough. Leaving it white will still give you a beautiful and delish cookie.

This cookie recipe has been such a hit that I decided to put it on a tea towel! These hand sewn (by me!) kitchen towels are 55% linen and 45% cotton. They’ll help you with the dishes after the cookies are made and in the oven. Wrap one up with a wooden spoon and a bottle of vanilla and you have the perfect gift for the baker on your list! They’re available now in the Shop!

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